If I Can't Forget You
by Lost Whispers
Summary: Sokka misses Yue. Totally rewritten.


**If I Can't Forget You**

**A/N: I promised about a year ago that this story would get rewritten. No, it was never a very popular story, but the fact that it was still in such disrepair bothered me so I finally got it done. I think it's a lot better now, but if it's not just let me know...**

Sokka stared into the clear, cold creek at his fishing line which lay limp on the water's surface. The sun was up, but the crisp autumn air was empty and still, basking in soft, late-afternoon light. Everything around the young Water Tribe warrior rested in silent, untouched beauty; not even the trees stirred in the gentile breeze dancing past them. Sokka's eyes shifted up to look at the pale blue sky. Soft wisps of clouds hung high above him, drifting together in perfect unity, and he wished for just a moment that he was a cloud - free and alone.

Suddenly, something pulled on the fishing line. Sokka broke the moment of perfection, shouting and jumping up in excitement. Eagerly he sought to reel the slippery animal in, but it was no use. The fish got away. Sokka couldn't stand waiting another hour for a new fish to come, though. He was hungry right then. "Katara! I'm..." Before he finished, a small slip of slightly yellowed Water Tribe paper caught his attention, flapping and fluttering lazily around in an attempt to escape the rough gray stone holding it down. He picked it up and looked curiously down at his sister's delicate handwriting.

_Sokka,_

_Aang and I went to the market for supplies._

_We'll be back by sunset._

_Don't eat anything._

_Love,_

_Katara_

Sighing in discontentment, Sokka trudged over to the sack they normally kept food in, finding it limp on Appa's saddle. When he turned it upside down, only a few crumbs fell out. He tossed the bag discontentedly to one side and returned to the edge of the creek. Lifting his eyes toward the sky, he noted that the sun was just beginning to slip down and meet the horizon. Pastel pinks and violets washed over the earth, and the great white orb on the edge of the earth lost its harsh glare to take on the dull, gentle orange it donned every night. Sokka didn't like sunsets anymore. As a child, he and Katara would go outside with their father and mother and watch the spectacular South Pole sunsets, but those days were long gone, and he would never be able to get them back.

Twilight didn't last long. Multitudes of impatient stars peeked out from the never-ending black sky, glinting and sparkling behind the moon as it crept higher and higher through the velvet space. Soft white moonlight cast eerie shadows over the land and a cold, pine-scented breeze gently rustled the dark tree branches surrounding the campsite. Sokka hated this time of night. He turned away from the moon and sat curled up next to Appa, wishing the moon would just disappear so that he could forget about her.

Bitter tears fell softly from his tanned cheeks and onto the dry earth below. He wiped his eyes roughly and turned back to the moon. "Why did you leave me?" he whispered. Momo climbed up his back and sat on his head until Sokka irritably pushed him down. Once again it was silent, but for Sokka, the silence was no longer peaceful. Now it was just the lingering memory of what he couldn't bring back; of all the things he would never be able to change.

Sokka looked back up at the twinkling night sky. "I loved you...I needed you more than they did. I though you loved me, too," Sokka wailed through the night. Just then Aang and Katara walked back up to the camp.

"We got the...Sokka, what's wrong?" Katara's soothing voice quieted Sokka a little. Once more he attempted to wipe away the angry tears that were blurring his vision.

"Is Momo dead?" Aang's playful gray eyes widened as he grabbed the large-eared lemur by the tail and shook him gently.

"No, Aang. Momo's fine. It's nothing..." he paused , choking back a sob. "I m-miss Yue." Katara sat down next to her crying brother and hugged him tight.

"We all do, Sokka. It's ok; you've gotten through stuff like this before. You're going to be fine. Besides, you still have Aang and me. We're not going to leave you." Katara's voice shook slightly as she said this. Her own silent tears welled up in her eyes. Only Aang had been unshaken by all this, but now even he broke down. He joined Katara and Sokka in the dirt.

"Yue loved you, Sokka. She wouldn't have left you if she didn't think it was the best thing to do. She wanted to help us; she wanted to protect you," Aang murmured, mostly to himself. His eyes were moist, but he didn't cry. He hadn't really known Yue that well.

"That's right, Sokka. She wanted to protect everyone," Katara reassured.

For a few long seconds, Katara and Aang held Sokka close, assuring him that he'd be alright. Once they were convinced he was ok, though, they prepared for bed and soon they were all fast asleep. All, that is, except for Sokka. "Yue," he took a final glimpse at the moon, "if I can't forget you, then promise me no one else will." Tears sprang up into his eyes, but he dried them hurriedly. No way was he repeating his previous break down.

Sokka wiped his eyes again and eventually went to sleep. The stars kept twinkling, and the moon kept shining, seemingly unmoved by the night's events. Momo crawled over to Sokka and curled up beside him, and for once, Sokka didn't push him away.


End file.
